Dinghies and Diving

Fun fact: the local word for "vibing" is "liming." 

Yesterday morning I woke up at the uncharacteristically late hour of 7:30 a.m. and was greeted with the news that during the night, the bolt holding the dinghy tethers had detached and the dinghy was now on the rocky shore of nearby Hog Island. (There are no pigs on Hog Island, but further west there is a Goat Island, which is properly inhabited by its namesake.) (Again, please turn the sound way up for the video.)

Luckily, everything turned out fine. (The rescue dinghy belongs to Allan's friend Meredith, who's staying on a nearby catamaran. We appreciate Meredith very much.)

After a quick dive to put back the bolt, the dinghy was fine and Hell's Gate was once again open. Fun fact: underwater adhesive is very sticky and, if accidentally smudged on, can stay on your face for days. Also, saltwater going up your nose multiple times is not very fun, especially while trying to make a repair.

After a nice breakfast at another nearby marina called Clarke's Court, we bade goodbye to Allan. We will no doubt see him and his single earring again someday. After Allan left and we had dinghied back, I decided that it was time to try out the kayak. Unfortunately, there were 20-knot (40 km/h) winds. Fortunately, I didn't care, and Jem—quite unwisely—didn't try to stop me. I made it around the boat a couple of times before my weak upper-body strength got the better of me. I also got some saltwater up my nose again from falling.

That afternoon, we decided to haul up the dinghy in preparation for pulling up the anchor the next day. After a combination of using the dinghy bridle (rope in the dinghy), the main halyard (rope on the mast used to pull up the sail), the topping lift (rope on the mast used to hold up the boom), the boom extender (small metal extension of the boom with pulleys at the end), a small dive done by yours truly to retrieve a fallen pole, and some more saltwater up my nose, the dinghy was safely tied.

For supper we had chicken (which Jem called "chook"), a big salad, baked potatoes with an ungodly amount of butter, and a wine from South Africa. The deck swayed a bit more than usual after that.

This morning we saw a nice rainbow as we pulled up the anchor and headed into Clarke's Court. We'll be staying here overnight to repair the fridge (again). Then we head north! That's all for now, ciao.

P.S. Thank you for the comments! I don't reply to all of them but I appreciate them nonetheless :)